owing for
flowers, they are allowed to come out, display their beauty for awhile
and fade. After this the small green pods appear, fill out, and ripen,
and then the producer of seed reaps his harvest.

There is much to be said upon the subject of growing and saving seed,
and the details of this fascinating work will be considered in other
chapters.

Keeping Cut Flowers.

While gladiolus blooms are exceedingly beautiful when fresh and well
cared for, they are very unattractive when neglected, and it requires so
little attention to keep them at their best that it seems a pity they
should ever be allowed to suffer for the want of it. The best time to
cut the spikes is when the first flowers unfold. Put the stems into
water, and the next day there will be more blossoms open, and then more,
and so on, until sometimes there is a large number out at once.
Varieties differ very much in this respect. Some will display six or
eight blooms, or even more. The largest number I ever saw on one spike
at one time was fourteen, and that was a very rare case. On the other
hand, some kinds no sooner open three or four blooms than the lower ones
begin to fade. This is equally true whether they bloom on the plants or
after they are cut. It seems that some stems are unable to take up
moisture enough to supply more than a few flowers at once. Ordinarily, a
vase or jardiniere filled with freshly cut spikes will look nice for two
or three days. By that time they will have bloomed up far enough so that
the first flowers begin to wither. After this, they should receive
attention every day. The faded flowers should be taken off, the stems
shortened accordingly, and the water changed. With this treatment the
bouquet keeps fresh and beautiful until the last bud opens.

It shortens the life of cut flowers of any kind to stand in the sun, or
to be exposed to a current of air, and the gladiolus is no exception.

Marketing Flowers.

In cutting gladiolus spikes for shipment it is best to do the work in
the morning, as far as possible. In the daytime, especially when the sun
shines hot, or the wind blows, or both, the plant gives off moisture
rapidly, and flowers cut under such conditions are liable to wilt,
unless their stems are placed in water immediately. During the night,
evaporation is diminished or suspended, while the roots continue to
take up moisture. The dew also has an effect, and in the morning the
plants are full of sap. This is o